OAC 2009: Mudra Max and Ogilvy make loudest noise

Hard work, innovation, creativity and an understanding of the medium were awarded at the Outdoor Advertising Awards 2009 in Mumbai

The much awaited Outdoor Advertising Convention, held over two days (June 18-19) came to a close, followed by the exciting Outdoor Advertising Awards 2009 held late in the evening at the Taj Land's End hotel in Mumbai.

The excitement among members of the industry was palpable just before the awards ceremony. This year, the OAA saw 357 entries in 24 categories, compared to last year's 324 entries. Of the 24 categories this year, 9 categories saw no winners at all.

The entries were judged and shortlisted by two groups of eminent jury members, consisting of 18 members in all. The media jury was chaired by Sandip Tarkas, president, customer strategy, Future Group and the creative jury was chaired by Alok Nanda, director, Alok Nanda & Company, with eight jury members in each jury panel.

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Mudra Max scored high in the media categories and won 11 awards in all, including two golds, three silvers and six merit certificates. The agency won the golds in the categories of Media Plan of the Year (national) and Best Use of Ambient Media, for its work on the Reliance IPO (Gone in 120 seconds) campaign and HT Opinion Poll respectively. It won the three silvers for its work on brands VLCC, Park Avenue and Cycle Agarbattis.

Pratap Bose, chief operating officer, Mudra Max, says, "The team is on cloud nine. We feel a sense of pride and achievement. We feel Mudra won in the important categories. I think it is more important to win in outdoor craft, and not categories where one is pasting print campaigns on posters, which to my mind is not really outdoor work. That is why I'm happy that Mudra won more on true execution."

Ogilvy & Mather scored better with its creatives, taking home the maximum number of awards, 18 in all including one gold, nine silvers and eight merit certificates. Incidentally, this is Ogilvy's fifth consecutive year of winning the maximum number of awards at the OAA. The agency won its gold in the Public and Social Service category for its work on Pulse Polio Immunization Drive - End Polio Now, and silvers for its work on brands such as Vodafone, Hobby Ideas, Cadbury Bournville and Cadbury Bournvita, among others.

Nabendu Bhattacharyya, president, OgilvyAction India, says, "The entire team is upbeat and we're celebrating. This was only 30 per cent of our good work that we entered. We won across categories and brands and this shows volume and quality of work. We are committed to this business and being a leader, we'll continue to churn out great work, making Ogilvy proud."

Piyush Pandey, ex-chairperson and national creative director, O&M India and South Asia, says, "I am delighted that our creative and outdoor teams have yet again combined to do stunning work for clients, winning the maximum awards at OAC's awards event."

Kinetic India, part of the WPP Group, won three awards - a gold, a silver and a merit. Its 7Up Nimbooz campaign was awarded the gold in the Innovation of the Year category. Its silver came in for its work on Union Bank of India in the Media Plan of the Year (national) category.

Encyclomedia Networks and 141 Wall Street also struck gold, winning one each. Encyclomedia won it for its work on Sprite Xpress (Ghumo Ghumao tunnel innovation) campaign in the Best Use of New Technology category. Mukesh Manik, man-in-charge, Encyclomedia Networks, says, "It's thanks to the client (Coca-Cola) for believing in us that we could make this happen and then, thanks to the media owner, C2E Technology Labs, without whose support this would not have seen light of day. It is a very proud moment for us at team Encyclomedia."

141 Wall Street won its gold in the Media Plan of the Year (local) category for its KILB Aegon Religare Mumbai campaign. Pradeep Pandey, director, brand and communication, Aegon Religare, says, "We believed in the medium that is OOH and launched our brand using bus shelters, bus panels and train wraps. It created a stir in the city for the period that it was up and everyone wondered what KILB was - that is the magic of outdoor and creativity!"

JCDecaux Advertising won three awards in all, a gold and a merit for its work on Louis Vuitton and Kingfisher Airlines respectively in the Best New Format Innovation category, and a silver in the Media Owner of the Year category. Laqshya Hyderabad Airport Media won a gold in the Media Owner of the Year category, while NS Publicity won a merit in this category.

Jaguar Services won a silver for its work on the Loop Mobile Innovation in the Best New Format Innovation category.

Auto Graphics Digital won four awards in all, a gold, a silver and a merit for its works on Sprite Xpress Volvo, Royal Challengers Stadium and Sakshi TV Fleet, respectively, in the Best Print Innovation category. The fourth award, a silver, was won in the Printer of the Year category. Macromedia Digital Imaging walked away with a gold and Printech Digital Imaging with a merit certificate, both in the Printer of the Year category.

With the end of the OAA 2009, this year's Outdoor Advertising Convention and Awards came to a close, while members from the industry continued celebrating a year's hard work over conversations and cocktails.